As WORT celebrates its 50th birthday this year, we’ve been reflecting on what the last half-century has meant to our community. But on today’s show, host Douglas Haynes asks, what will the next 50 years look like? He’s joined by the next generation of radio leaders, Olivia O’Callaghan and Daniel Stein from WSUM and Ted Hyngstrom from the Daily Cardinal who produces the weekly feature, Cardinal Call, on WORT.

Record numbers of UW Madison students are signing up to volunteer at WSUM, say O’Callahan and Stein. There’s interest from students wanting to play music on air and from listeners wanting to engage in digital content, like DJ spotlights and vinyl takeovers. Hyngstrom speculates that there’s such a demand for radio because it’s easy to consume, you can just put on your headphones and get music or news on demand.

There may be something to the generational generalizations about Gen Z-ers ditching the algorithm in favor of analog media, from cassettes to radio. O’Callahan says it’s rewarding to be a part of a medium with a long history. And Stein says that even if the medium is an old one, people are consuming radio content in very 21st century ways, by listening on apps, by setting reminders for their favorite shows, replaying favorite shows, and listening on the go.

Stein says that “radio is a big market for people who are looking for an itch that’s not already being scratched.” Whereas AI is zapping people’s creativity, people tune into WSUM or WORT “because they want to hear something authentic.”

College Radio and community radio are shaping local culture, and that work excites these three students. Hyngstrom says that the work of “making something” motivates him, like an art form would. He’s driven to work on human-centered stories shaped by expert knowledge, like the Daily Cardinal’s recent AI issue. O’Callahan says that getting to know show hosts contributes to the intimacy of the listening experience of radio. She got connected to college radio as a way to meet people, and now she’s getting professional experience by applying classroom work in a real-world capacity. And from multimedia content to dynamic programming, our guests envision a bright and innovative future for radio.

Ted Hyngstrom is the producer of Cardinal Call, a collaboration between WORT and UW-Madison student newspaper “The Daily Cardinal.” As Podcast Director, he has overseen a comprehensive overhaul of how the Cardinal approaches audio journalism, working to integrate podcasting and audio journalism into the newsroom while simultaneously supporting multimedia storytelling. Academically, Ted is a sophomore Honors college student at UW-Madison studying Journalism and Political Science. Someday, he hopes to work as a local news multimedia journalist.

Olivia O’Callaghan is a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying journalism and sociology. She joined WSUM Student Radio her freshman year, and worked as a Traffic Director in 2024 before being elected to serve as Station Manager for the 2025 calendar year. She hosts a music show at 10pm on Wednesday nights called “Kitchen Sink.”

Daniel Stein is the Program Director at WSUM where he oversees the content broadcast on their FM and online signals, develops show schedules for nearly 200 active members, and enforces federal broadcast regulations.

Featured image of a soundboard at a college radio station via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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It takes the average Latina, 12 extra months to earn what the average White, non-Hispanic man earns. That is because Latinas are only paid .55 cents to the dollar of […]

The post Yo Quiero Dinero! Storytelling with Midwest Mujeres appeared first on WORT-FM 89.9.

On today’s show, host Esty Dinur is joined by Ojibwe elder, Great Grandmother Mary Lyons, who recaps what happened at the United Nations Climate Conference of Parties (COP 30) in Belém, Brazil last month. The gathering of world leaders and representatives of international organizations happens every year to address the climate crisis. This year, over 50,000 people from 193 nations gathered with at least 5,000 Indigenous participants, who Lyons says were intentionally left out of decision making conversations.

Though the conference was marketed as the Indigenous people’s COP, Lyons says that it was difficult for Indigenous leaders to get access to the badges that would give them access to the conferences meetings and negotiations. There was also a large military presence that Lyons says was so different from past events. Lyons and others were trying to send the message that there is great danger to the planet, but “we were met with closed ears.”

There were some good outcomes of the COP30, like the land tenure commitment, Brazil’s recognition of ten Indigenous territories, and the tropical forest forever facility. These will be good outcomes if they are acted upon.

They also discuss the protection of waters of the Earth, the wealth of decision makers, and the lack of leadership on the climate emergency from the US federal government. Lyons says that she considers all children of the world her grandchildren and is concerned with the future of the whole planet and population.

Great Grandmother Mary Lyons is an Ojibwe elder from Minnesota. She is also an author, humanitarian worker, wisdomkeeper, knowledgeholder, recovery and culture speaker, UN Elder Observer, and spiritual guide.

Featured image of one of the buildings at the COP 30 in Belém, Brazil from UNclimatechange on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

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